There’s no question that the coronavirus pandemic has threatened not only the physical health of Americans, but also their financial well-being. Since mid-March, more than 30 million Americans have lost jobs, leaving them without steady paychecks to pay bills.

One of the biggest bills many Americans have to pay each month is rent. Some renters have gotten a little relief from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act that was passed by Congress in late March. The CARES Act prevents property owners with federally backed mortgage loans from evicting tenants through July 25, 2020. Several states have also suspended evictions.

But plenty of renters aren’t protected by temporary bans on evictions. And even those who are protected still are expected to pay rent.

Unfortunately, renters in cities hardest hit by the coronavirus could be struggling most to make monthly payments. The median monthly rent in the U.S. is $1,058, according to Census Bureau data. However, the median rent in 37 of the 50 hardest-hit cities is higher than the national median, a new GOBankingRates study found.

GOBankingRates used the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center to find the 50 counties with the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of May 1, 2020. Then GOBankingRates identified the largest city in each of those counties and used Census Bureau data to find the median gross rent in those cities.

Find out what the median rent comes out to in the 50 places hit hardest by the coronavirus. The data will give you an idea of how much residents might struggle should they no longer have enough income to afford rent.

Methodology: To find the median rent in the 50 cities hit hardest by the coronavirus, GOBankingRates first had to identify the hardest-hit cities in the United States. GOBankingRates looked at the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center to find the 50 counties in the country with the most confirmed cases of COVID-19. Then, GOBankingRates pulled information from state and local government sites on the communities that make up each of the 50 hardest-hit counties. Using the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey five-year population estimates for “Places” in the U.S., GOBankingRates was able to identify the largest community in each of the 50 hardest-hit counties. GOBankingRates again used ACS data to find the median gross rent for occupied units in each city. Most of the largest communities in the counties identified by Johns Hopkins were classified as cities, but occasionally, a township, unincorporated area or place classified in some other way had the highest population. Places with no population data available from the ACS “Places” estimates were excluded. In the case of New York counties that are coterminous with the five boroughs of New York City, ACS “County” population and rent data were used. Data from the ACS on the median household income in each community is provided as supplemental information. All data was collected on and up to date as of May 1-4, 2020.

About the Author

Cameron Huddleston is an award-winning journalist with more than 18 years of experience writing about personal finance. Her work has appeared in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Business Insider, Chicago Tribune, Fortune, MSN, USA Today and many more print and online publications. She also is the author of Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations With Your Parents About Their Finances.

U.S. News & World Report named her one of the top personal finance experts to follow on Twitter, and AOL Daily Finance named her one of the top 20 personal finance influencers to follow on Twitter. She has appeared on CNBC, CNN, MSNBC and “Fox & Friends” and has been a guest on ABC News Radio, Wall Street Journal Radio, NPR, WTOP in Washington, D.C., KGO in San Francisco and other personal finance radio shows nationwide. She also has been interviewed and quoted as an expert in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, MarketWatch and more.

She has an MA in economic journalism from American University and BA in journalism and Russian studies from Washington & Lee University.

There’s no question that the coronavirus pandemic has threatened not only the physical health of Americans, but also their financial well-being. Since mid-March, more than 30 million Americans have lost jobs, leaving them without steady paychecks to pay bills.

One of the biggest bills many Americans have to pay each month is rent. Some renters have gotten a little relief from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act that was passed by Congress in late March. The CARES Act prevents property owners with federally backed mortgage loans from evicting tenants through July 25, 2020. Several states have also suspended evictions.

But plenty of renters aren’t protected by temporary bans on evictions. And even those who are protected still are expected to pay rent.

Unfortunately, renters in cities hardest hit by the coronavirus could be struggling most to make monthly payments. The median monthly rent in the U.S. is $1,058, according to Census Bureau data. However, the median rent in 37 of the 50 hardest-hit cities is higher than the national median, a new GOBankingRates study found.

GOBankingRates used the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center to find the 50 counties with the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of May 1, 2020. Then GOBankingRates identified the largest city in each of those counties and used Census Bureau data to find the median gross rent in those cities.

Find out what the median rent comes out to in the 50 places hit hardest by the coronavirus. The data will give you an idea of how much residents might struggle should they no longer have enough income to afford rent.

Methodology: To find the median rent in the 50 cities hit hardest by the coronavirus, GOBankingRates first had to identify the hardest-hit cities in the United States. GOBankingRates looked at the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center to find the 50 counties in the country with the most confirmed cases of COVID-19. Then, GOBankingRates pulled information from state and local government sites on the communities that make up each of the 50 hardest-hit counties. Using the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey five-year population estimates for “Places” in the U.S., GOBankingRates was able to identify the largest community in each of the 50 hardest-hit counties. GOBankingRates again used ACS data to find the median gross rent for occupied units in each city. Most of the largest communities in the counties identified by Johns Hopkins were classified as cities, but occasionally, a township, unincorporated area or place classified in some other way had the highest population. Places with no population data available from the ACS “Places” estimates were excluded. In the case of New York counties that are coterminous with the five boroughs of New York City, ACS “County” population and rent data were used. Data from the ACS on the median household income in each community is provided as supplemental information. All data was collected on and up to date as of May 1-4, 2020.

About the Author

Cameron Huddleston is an award-winning journalist with more than 18 years of experience writing about personal finance. Her work has appeared in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Business Insider, Chicago Tribune, Fortune, MSN, USA Today and many more print and online publications. She also is the author of Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations With Your Parents About Their Finances.

U.S. News & World Report named her one of the top personal finance experts to follow on Twitter, and AOL Daily Finance named her one of the top 20 personal finance influencers to follow on Twitter. She has appeared on CNBC, CNN, MSNBC and “Fox & Friends” and has been a guest on ABC News Radio, Wall Street Journal Radio, NPR, WTOP in Washington, D.C., KGO in San Francisco and other personal finance radio shows nationwide. She also has been interviewed and quoted as an expert in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, MarketWatch and more.

She has an MA in economic journalism from American University and BA in journalism and Russian studies from Washington & Lee University.

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